​"Design it, Build it, and Maintain it!"​

March is a month of change. Snow can cover the ground on the first of the month, and a couple of weeks later it can be warm enough for flower growth. March is the time of year to begin cleaning up your yard and preparing it for warmer weather. Here is a list of things that should be done to spruce up your yard.1. Clean up fallen leaves and sticks from lawn areas and beds. This material can be added to a compost pile.2. Prune dead and winter damaged branches. Be sure to use sharp pruners to make a clean cut. Summer flowering shrubs can be pruned at this time, but wait to prune spring bloomers (like Forsythia) until after they flower.3. Divide and cut back perennials including decorative grasses for a cleaner look.4. Fertilize shrubs and flowers at this time.5. Repair damaged lawn areas by adding new soil, if needed, and seed. The soil temperature needs to be at least 50 degrees to get germination (this may not happen until April). Also, a seed starter mulch is beneficial to keep the seed moist.6. Clean up hardscape surfaces. Repair heaved pavers and refill joints.

1. Water in the morning between 4 a.m. and 10 a.m. Evening watering allows water to sit and promotes fungus. In the middle of the day water evaporates quickly.2. Water long enough to soak 6 inches into soil. This is the depth of a healthy root system.3. Only water twice a week. Watering deeply and infrequently promotes a healthy root system.

The best way to control Ticks on your property is to use an integrated pest management approach. This means using a combination of pesticide treatments and property management techniques. Ticks like both tall grass and cool areas under leaves. To lower the tick population on your property you should routinely mow your lawn and string trim all areas along edges. You should also remove any leaf litter found on your property. Mulching landscape beds and creating a mulch barrier between woody areas and your yard can lower tick populations on your property. Treating barriers of your property with either an organic or traditional pesticide will help lower the tick populations. One treatment is not a fix all solution. You must routinely maintain all areas of your property and treat as needed. Mikulik Lawn and Landscape offers both organic and traditional methods to control both ticks and mosquitoes.

Mikulik Lawn and Landscape, LLC now offers safe and effective methods to control geese on your property. Whether your looking to control geese on your lakefront property or an athletic field, we have solutions. Please contact us to discuss a program that works for you!

Keri Zierenberg, of Tanis Concrete Inc., hands out puzzles to attendees. The Highland Lakes Clubhouse Committee, local businesses, and services teamed up to hold a Touch-a-Truck event on Oct. 2, 2016 in the clubhouse parking lot. Local businessmen Rob and Ray Bross join a group of Highland Lakes kids on a Ray Bross Construction Inc. front end loader. Vernon Police Officer Steven Rovetto tells youngster Joseph Rampolla how to turn the sirens and lights on in the patrol vehicle. Joseph Potsel enjoys the chance to sit on a large lawn mower that local business Mikulik Lawn and Landscape brought for all to check out.

John Mikulik, Owner

Mikulik Lawn and Landscape is a landscape maintenance, design, construction, and fertilizer/pesticide application company. We are proud to provide services to both residential and commercial clients in the towns of Vernon (including Highland Lakes), Warwick, Chester, and Sugar Loaf.